How to Use VR Pass-through?
Virtual reality is redefining the way we interact with digital tools in the workplace. Like all rapidly evolving technologies, it comes with challenges and limitations that need to be addressed.
Although 54% of workers who regularly use VR spend between one to two hours a day wearing a headset, using the technology for extended periods of time can make users feel disconnected from the real world. This can increase the risk of bumping into things when moving around or make transitioning from virtual worlds to the physical world and back again, more difficult.
Similarly, if you're fully immersed in a digital environment, interruptions from outside can be disruptive and affect workflow and concentration, particularly if you need to remove your headset.
Pass-through addresses these frustrations. It allows you to see your physical surroundings while wearing a VR headset. The result is a seamless blend of real and virtual worlds, or mixed reality.
How does VR Pass-through work?
VR Pass-through requires a combination of sensors and cameras built into your VR headset capturing a real-time video feed of your physical environment displayed in mixed reality. This allows users to see and interact with their real-world surroundings without taking off their headset.
Full colour Pass-through, featured on the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S, works best in well-lit rooms. Pass-through plays a big part in the delivery of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences, where digital content, such as text or images, is overlaid on the live feed.
So what does this do for your workplace VR experience?
For avid multitaskers, Pass-through is a valuable tool. If you're working remotely, you can have your physical desk in front of you and floating browser screens visible through your headset to expand your multi-screen experience. If you need to grab your coffee or use a real-world keyboard, you can do so safely without dropping out of virtual worlds.
VR Pass-through and mixed reality
VR Pass-through and mixed reality are not interchangeable technologies.
Pass-through is like "looking through a window". It's about seeing your physical surroundings through a live video feed with an on/off function.
Mixed reality involves making digital elements part of your real-world experience. You can interact with both at the same time and move easily between them for a more prolonged period. Pass-through, then, is an essential component of the mixed reality experience.
Read more about the difference between AR, VR and MR.
When you're recording, casting or live-streaming with Pass-through on Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S, bystanders will see a blinking white light.
When using Pass-through, it's up to you to let people in your vicinity know. You can mention that Meta doesn't have access to any videos captured when Pass-through is switched on and that camera data is processed locally and not stored or transmitted.
To find out more about privacy and security, visit the Meta Quest Safety Centre.
How businesses can use Pass-through
Training and education
The combination of virtual and real worlds, allows educators to create efficient, integrated and highly engaging learning experiences. For example, employees wearing VR headsets with Pass-through can access step-by-step guides for new equipment so that they can learn on the job. Additional training may be minimal or not needed at all.
Product design
Design and development teams wearing VR headsets with Pass-through can work on 3D models together in real time and in the same space. Seeing the finished product or a prototype brought to life in the context of the physical world can make it easier to spot potential issues sooner rather than later.
Maintenance and repairs
For complex or specialist repairs, the expertise may not be available on site or may be too expensive to bring in. Using VR headsets with Pass-through, technicians can connect with experts remotely and be guided through a repair or maintenance process.
Marketing
Customers wearing VR headsets can see what they'd look like wearing a particular outfit or whether a piece of furniture fits in their living room. This pre-sale support takes the hesitation out of decision-making and reduces the chances of returns.
What are the benefits of VR Pass-through?
Safety and situational awareness
Convenience
More creativity and innovation
Staying connected with those around you
A primary function of VR Pass-through is safety: yours and those around you. By staying connected with your physical environment while using virtual reality you prevent accidents from happening.
Meta Quest allows you to set boundaries using the Guardian feature. This involves defining the physical area that you're safe to move in. If you get too close to the boundary, you'll get a warning via your headset. Pass-through makes this possible.
What are the challenges when using VR Pass-through?
Image quality
The Pass-through cameras on VR headsets don't see the world exactly as you do. Images can lack real-world detail making it harder to carry out intricate tasks and even with cameras positioned at eye level, some visual displacement is likely.
Environmental limitations
VR Pass-through works best in well-lit rooms. Without adequate light around you or with too many reflective surfaces or complex visual patterns, you may get a less accurate or reliable representation of your physical space.
Hardware limitations
Not all headsets are created equal. The hardware capabilities available, including camera and sensor quality, inevitably have an impact on your VR Pass-through experience. You may experience latency issues, reduced frame rates or visual distortion in your video feed, making for a less seamless blend of real and virtual worlds.
Power consumption
Battery life is a significant issue with simultaneous operation of cameras, sensors and processing units consuming a lot of power. Optimising energy efficiency is one of the key challenges facing headset designers in the quest for a more convincing Pass-through experience.
Privacy
The process of capturing and potentially sharing video of your surroundings raises many privacy concerns. It's important to be mindful of those around you and get informed consent if you've got Pass-through enabled.
With more organisations investing in MR headsets and driving the demand for game-changing virtual experiences, innovations such as Pass-through are playing an important role in pushing the technology forwards. By helping to bridge the gap between real and virtual worlds, it's unlocking a host of new possibilities, with many more Pass-through-supported use cases still to come.
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